


The Carol

by Ailelie, Cinaed



Series: Enduring Legends [27]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Christmas, F/M, Holidays, Play and Drama
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-23
Updated: 2011-12-23
Packaged: 2017-10-28 00:05:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/301569
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ailelie/pseuds/Ailelie, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cinaed/pseuds/Cinaed
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><em>Friday, December 23</em></p><p>In which there is A Christmas Carol.</p><p>(Elle/Gavin)</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Carol

_Friday, December 23 2011_

 _  
_

" _A Christmas Carol_ is a song with five verses," Elle said. "Mean Scrooge, Past, Present, Future, and Nice Scrooge." She counted them off on one hand. "This will be exhausting," she admitted, looking primarily to Will and Cate, who were filling the bulk of the roles, "but we can do it."

"This is going to be a disaster," Cate said.

"Just remember your costumes," Elle said. "Will, Fred has the scarf, and—"

"Bob has the hat," Will said, touching his cap. "Marley is neither and carries the chains."

"And Cate?"

Cate closed her eyes and recited, "Beard, bonnet, bright coat, skirt, shawl, and apron." She opened her eyes. "I hate you, by the way."

"See," Elle said, smiling. "We'll be fine." She turned to the rest of her cast. "Alice, you hold the story together. Coby, you carry it. Percy, be scary. And, J.J.—" Elle crouched down by Alice's son "—you have the most important part of all."

"God bless us, everyone," J.J. said. Elle ruffled his hair.

"Exactly." She stood back up. "I know we're short people. I know this will be rough in parts. We have a cobbled together script, barely any set, and have had even less rehearsal time. But none of that matters, because I know we can do this. We have to help each other and keep the show going. Only five verses. We can make it. Are you ready?"

Elle grinned at her cast, proud of each one and how much they'd stepped up over the past several weeks. When Russell had hurt his knee, Will and Cate had each taken on an additional role to fill the gap, and Percy, even though he'd not known Elle at all, had stepped as a very effective ghost. Alice, despite all of her protests, had prepared five short songs, each perfectly setting the tone for the next set of scenes, and brought in her son to help as well. Even Coby had committed from the very first planning session for the play, impressing Elle enough that she'd agreed to let him play Scrooge.

"All right," Elle said. "Gavin will introduce us, then Alice, you're up." Alice nodded. "All of the costume pieces and props are on tables beside the stage. Ready?"

"Ready," Coby said with his usual confidence. The others nodded and muttered the same.

"Perfect," Elle said. "Let's go."

The stage was not the humblest one Elle had played upon, but it was close. The stage was small, more suited for music performances and short skits. The offstage area was marked off with pairs chalk or white boards on either side, blankets pinned beneath to better hide the actors. The backdrops and props had been created by shelter volunteers and were, as such, of variable quality. Their curtain didn't draw open and closed, but rather rolled on and off stage on caster wheels. It was hodge-podge, but Elle was certain they'd make it work.

Gavin, seeing them leave his office, stood and quieted the audience. Alice took a deep breath and moved onto the stage. As she started to sing, Coby and Will got into their places. Elle and Cate put on their beards, and Elle buttoned up her coat over a pillow, adding girth.

Once Alice reached mid-chorus ( _Comfort and joy!_ ), Coby pushed onto the stage. "Bah Humbug!" he interrupted. After he'd exited on stage left, Alice sang a couple lines from "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" as she pushed the curtain aside and followed Coby off-stage.

The play went about as expected. Cate and Coby had a bit of an argument in the second stanza while on stage as Fan and Scrooge, giving the brother and sister an unplanned, somewhat unsettling dynamic.

Will forgot to remove his hat in the third stanza as he moved from being Bob at his family's dinner to being Fred at his party. Luckily, little J.J. had noticed and had tugged on the scarf before Will could go onstage. Less luckily, however, the scarf had been looped around Will's neck at the time.

Percy's Ghost made one child watching shout and start crying in fear. Percy had frozen, forcing Coby to rearrange the scene on the spot. In the end, however, the audience had laughed in all the right places and clapped at the end.

As the cast mingled with the audience after the curtain call, Gavin pulled Elle aside, asking to see her in his office.

"So," Gavin said, shutting the door behind them.

"So," Elle repeated.

"First," Gavin said. "I want you to know I love you."

Elle smiled. "I thought you might."

"Don't forget that. Second—" he stopped and shoved back his hair from his face in what Elle recognized as frustration. "This is more difficult than I thought it'd be."

"I already know about the dreams, Gavin," Elle teased.

One corner of his mouth lifted in a wry smile. "Right. Okay, so." He stopped moving. "This is my office."

Elle looked around the room. "Yes, it is."

"This is also the owner's office. Of this shelter, I mean. That is—"

She was tempted to finish the sentence for him, to say what she'd known for months, but she still wanted to hear the truth from him. Gavin took another deep breath.

"I own this shelter. I have money, not as much as Arthur, but a lot. I never wanted it."

Elle stepped forward, wrapping Gavin in a tight hug. "Thank you."

"You knew?" Gavin asked, pulling back. He searched her face.

Elle nodded. "Yes, well, about the shelter, yes. I only knew about the money as far as the owner always having enough."

Gavin kissed her. She could feel his relief. "I have something for you," he said, breaking the kiss.

"Oh?"

He picked up a small, wrapped box from his desk and pressed it into Elle's hand. The box was the perfect size for a ring. Anticipation squeezed her chest. Elle unwrapped the package, revealing the ring box she'd hoped to find. She was afraid to open it in case inside was only earrings or similar. "Is this—" she started to ask, interrupted by Gavin taking and opening the box.

"It's beautiful," Elle said, awe hushing her voice. She took the ring and slid it onto her finger.

"No hesitation," Gavin said, smiling. "I like that."

Elle laughed. "None," she said, kissing him. "Absolutely none at all."

**Author's Note:**

> This section was written by Ailelie.
> 
> This is not the chapter we'd intended on sharing. An expanded version of the play as performed may be written after Christmas. Also, the scene with Gavin and Elle may be re-written.
> 
> Though, if you are curious, here is how the play worked.
> 
> Cast:  
> Coby Hahn – Scrooge  
> Alice Little — Belle and transition songs  
> Percy Woods — Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come  
> Elle Goodwin — Ghost of Present, one of the Portly Gentlemen, the Kid on Christmas Morning  
> Cate Potter — One of the Portly Gentlemen, Fan, Scrooge's maid, Mrs. Cratchit, Fezziwig, Woman at Fred's Party  
> Will Redd — Fred, Bob Cratchit, Ghost of Past, Marley  
> John, Jr. 'J.J.' Little (Alice and John's son) — Tiny Tim
> 
> Russell Fox was originally going to play the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, Marley, and Fezziwig.
> 
> Alice is Belle who is telling the story of her first love. Some scenes she knows to be true; others are made up. She is in every set of scenes in the background, save for when she appears as Belle. Her costume never changes.
> 
> Each set of scenes is short. The Portly Gentlemen in the first set are retained solely to give Will a bit of time between being Bob and Fred.
> 
> In the scenes of the past, Scrooge fills in for his younger self, reliving each memory until it becomes too much.The other characters carry on as if he is still there, even if he has gone to the spirit to ask to leave. This is particular poignant in Belle's break-up scene in which Scrooge first refuses to take over the role, but then tries to change it. He pleads with Belle to forgive him, but she continues with the script of the past.
> 
> Very few of the lines were strictly written. Instead, each player knew their characters and the purpose of each scene. As they practiced, though, they did create an informal script.
> 
> If there are any questions about how the play worked, please ask. I (Ailelie) spent far too much time thinking about it.


End file.
